Firefighter Fatalities in the United States 2003

NFPA Journal, Jul/Aug 2004 by Fahy, Rita F, LeBlanc, Paul R

Persons with certain health-related problems should not be allowed to become firefighters and those who develop problems after they are firefighters should be carefully evaluated to be sure they are capable of continuing to perform firefighting and other emergency duties. Persons not physically fit or medically qualified pose a danger not only to themselves but to their fellow firefighters and the public as their sudden incapacitation can affect the success of a mission.

Firefighting is a dangerous profession, but a large proportion of the on-duty deaths reported each year could be prevented.

References

1. The NFPA's files for firefighter on-duty fatal injuries are updated continually for all years.

2. These categories are based on the 1981 edition of NFPA 901, Uniform Coding for Fire Protection.

3. Michael J. Karter, Jr., "U.S. Fire Department Profile through 2001," NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, Massachusetts, December 2002, unpublished. The analysis shown here assumes that the number of firefighters adequately estimates exposure and that the age distribution of career and volunteer firefighters is similar.

Credits

A study made possible by the cooperation and assistance of the United States fire service, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program of the Department of justice, the United States Fire Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The authors would also like to thank Carl E. Peterson of the Public Fire Protection Division for his assistance on the study.

Fall from apparatus

On January 8, at approximately 5 p.m., firelighters received an alarm to investigate the odor of smoke at a nearby airport. An engine company with an officer and three firelighters responded in a reserve engine. The reserve piece, which had a canopy cab design, was in use while their engine was in the shop for maintenance. Before leaving the station, the officer saw that the two firelighters were sitting in their jump seats. Both firefighters gave the all-set signal. The apparatus was equipped with operable seat belts but wasn't equipped with safety bars or gates.

The driver was negotiating a right-hand turn, the last of a sequence of turns to gain entrance to the highway, when the fall occurred. Investigators believe that the 40year-old firefighter who was sitting behind the driver fell from the apparatus as she reached for her ear protection. The driver heard a loud sound and saw through his rear-side mirror that the firefighter was lying motionless on the street. The driver immediately stopped the engine and called for medical assistance as the crew went to her aid.

At the hospital, the firefighter underwent emergency surgery for traumatic head injuries. She remained in a coma for five weeks and then died from her multiple injuries. An examination of the apparatus found that her seat belt was intact and unfastened. A short circuit in an electrical vault caused the smoke odor.